What's this?
by Hayles45
Summary: Eric and Ariel are now married! But Ariel still doesn't understand everything about the land, like what pens do or why people use ovens. Can Eric help her understand? How will they cope? Please R&R! Thanks! :D Rated T to be safe!
1. Pen

**Hi! This is my first The Little Mermaid fanfiction, so I'm sorry if it's not that good. This is about when Eric and Ariel get married and how Ariel copes with being a human and how Eric helps her to understand the human world. Please review! :D**

Eric had never been one for maths and other subjects like that, but here he was, reading a science book in his study. He didn't need to, but he had a feeling that Ariel would want to ask him questions soon, so he was preparing. At that very moment, the door was pushed open and Ariel walked in, holding something in her hand. He smiled, "What've you got there?" he asked, getting up and meeting her halfway across the room. She grinned and held up a fountain pen, "I found this in a drawer, what is it?" she questioned, handing him it. He smiled again. Ariel was very curious about everything, even if it was something as simple as a pen, "Well... we use this for writing. It's called a pen," he replied, pulling over two chairs and sitting down, followed by Ariel. She frowned, "Pen? That's a funny name! What does it do?" she said, running her index finger slowly across the pen's smooth surface. Eric turned it over in his hands and drew a long line on his hand, "It writes, see? We use this to write letters and draw things... it's very useful!" he explained. Ariel's face lit up, making him laugh. She took it off him and began to draw on his hand, although it was rather scribbled. Before she had a chance to colour in his entire left hand, he took it off her, "Look, I'll show you," he said, getting a piece of paper and writing 'Eric Jacob Johnson' in clear handwriting. She smiled, "That's your name!" she exclaimed. He smiled, 'Good, she can read,' he thought, "What's your full name?" he asked, preparing to write. She thought for a moment, "I'm not sure, nobody really uses it, but I think it's Ariel Triton after my father," she replied. He nodded in understanding, before drawing eleven separate lines on the paper.

"What are you doing?" she asked him as she scooted her chair closer to his. He smirked and gently grasped her around her waist, and then hoisted her onto his lap. She didn't protest, and seemed rather amused at the position they were in, "Why am I sitting on you?" she laughed. He smiled weakly, "Because it'll be easier," and with that, he shifted slightly and placed the pen in her right hand and took each of her fingers until she was grasping it the correct way. Then he covered her hand with hers and guided it to the first line, "Do you know how to write?" he asked. She half nodded and half shook her head, "Well... um... merpeople used to do a lot of the writing for us, so... not really," he sighed, "Ok, I'll help you, now we're going to write the letter A," he explained, guiding their hands until they had both drawn a capital A and a lower case a. Many hours passed, and after many failed attempts, Ariel finally managed to write her own name, "I did it! All by myself!" she cried happily, marvelling at her name now written on the paper. Eric squeezed her affectionately, "I know! All you need to do is practice every day and you'll be able to write more words!" he said, and he lifted her off his lap as gently as he had placed her on. She smiled and picked up the paper, "Can I keep this?" she asked innocently, her blue eyes shining. He nodded, not quite believing that his wife was the most beautiful and kind person he'd ever met. She then leant down and kissed him tenderly. He responded by getting up, not breaking the kiss, and wrapping his arms around her waist. After about two minutes, they broke apart, both smiling, "I love you," she whispered. He smiled, "I love you too, Ariel,"

**So? What do you think? Tell me please, I'm also open to suggestions! If you have any ideas about what item Eric should explain to her next, feel free to message me or mention it in your review! Thanks! Hayles45 :D**


	2. Fire

**Hey again! I hope you all enjoyed my first chapter! This next one is about fire (as xSummersx so kindly suggested!) so I hope you like this one as well! Please review!**

After he'd finished writing a letter to his uncle, Eric left his study and headed up towards their bedroom, where he was sure he would find Ariel. As he opened the door, he smiled. Ariel was lying on the floor, drawing on a piece of paper, whilst lots of paper was scattered all over the room, all with 'Ariel Triton' written on them. He laughed, making his presence known to Ariel, "Hey Eric, look what I did!" she exclaimed, waving her hand to acknowledge the other pieces of paper. He then closed the door and sat down beside her, "Who's that?" he asked, pointing to the person drawn on Ariel's paper. She smiled, "That's you!" she replied. He laughed, "Wow, does my hair really look like that?" he joked; making her blush, "Is that you?" he asked her, pointing to the woman drawn on the paper. She nodded. He smiled and complimented her with a kiss, before getting up, "It's cold in here! Do you want me to light the fire?" he asked innocently, thinking that she would simply say yes, "A fire!?! For real? Oh gosh you have to show me!" she cried almost hysterically. He laughed again and helped her up. She sat watching with wide eyes as he lit the match, and then set the logs in the fireplace alight. He was amused at her amazement, but he couldn't complain, it was probably the first time she had seen fire. But almost instantly, he got a bad feeling about how close she was. When he saw her hand move, he knew what was going to happen, "Ariel, don't..."

As soon as her hand came into contact with the flame, a small sizzling sound was heard and she retracted it immediately, "Eric! Eric, help me!" she cried as she clutched her hand. As a strange reflex, he quickly picked her up and carried her bridal style out of the door. Racing down the hall, he kicked open the door to the bathroom and placed her down before running the cold tap and placing her hand under it. She responded by letting out a sigh of relief, "You ok? That's why we don't touch fire, it hurts!" he explained as he held her hand carefully. Despite her pain, she found herself smiling, and then laughing. Eric soon joined in, and the nearby maids exchanged worried looks when they heard hysterical laughing coming from the bathroom.

**Yay! Hope you liked it! The next chapter is all about the beach and sandcastles and stuff like that, so look out for it! Thanks to xSummersx and Daydreamer747! **


	3. Sandcastles

Ariel walked slowly along the beach, feeling the sea air brush past her face and the waves lapping onto the beach, "I miss you, I miss you all so much," she whispered. Suddenly, a bark was heard, and Ariel turned to see Max bounding towards her with Eric following slowly, "Hello Max!" she laughed and bent down to give the dog a cuddle. Eric reached them and put down what he was carrying, "What are these?" she asked, picking up a long wooden pole with a flat plastic bit on the end. Eric laughed, "That's a spade, and those over there are buckets," he replied. She smiled, "Spade? Bucket? You humans sure have weird names..." but she was cut off when Eric scooped her up into his strong arms and carried her into the sea, "Eric, my dress!" she exclaimed, holding up her dress to avoid it touching the water, "Hey, it's just water, it's not toxic," he joked, making her smile as she let her dress drop into the water. He then kissed her, and she kissed him back, their lips melting together. Ariel drew her lips away and began to gently nuzzle his neck whilst he kissed her forehead. SPLASH! Eric and Ariel broke apart from their embrace, both of their heads soaking. Max barked happily, and tugged at Eric's sleeve, "Ok! C'mon Ariel, I'll show you how to make a sandcastle!" he said, letting her fall gently into the water and leading her away towards the sand, "Sandcastle? Weird..."

"So, you put the sand in the bucket like this..." began Eric, as they both sat on the beach. Max was running up and down madly, as if he were chasing someone. Ariel nodded, although she still didn't understand. Eric smiled as she began to pile sand into her own bucket, still looking unconvinced, "And then you do this..." and he flipped over the bucket so that it was against the floor. Ariel managed to do it surprisingly, and grinned like a six year old with candy when she did, "Then you slowly take it off and... tah dah!" he cried as he pulled off the bucket to reveal a perfect sandcastle. Ariel pulled hers off and a heap of sand tumbled back onto the beach, "Mine didn't work..." she breathed sadly. Eric frowned, "It's ok, and you haven't done it before! I think you forgot to compact it," he said, shuffling closer to offer a hug if she got upset. She frowned, "Compact?" she questioned. Eric mentally slapped himself for using a complicated word, "Squished. You didn't squish it in enough," he repeated. She smiled, "Oh, can I try again?" she asked. He nodded, "You don't have to ask me, you do whatever you want!" he replied, making her grin, "Ok, I'll do it again..."

After another two attempts, Ariel finally managed to make a good sandcastle. Eric then explained how she could use shells to decorate it, and after Ariel had done that, they both stood back to marvel at the pretty sandcastle, "I can't believe it! I did it!" she cried happily. But the happiness was short lived, as Max came running down the beach like a lightning bolt, "Max no..." but it was too late. Max ploughed through the sandcastle, leaving a messy pile of shells and sand behind him. Ariel's face dropped, "My... sandcastle," she murmured, her eyes brimming with tears. Eric put his arm around her, "Ariel... it was going to happen anyway, that's what's _supposed _to happen," he comforted. She nodded in understanding, "C'mon, I'll show you another fun thing to do!" he exclaimed, trying to cheer her up. She looked at him expectantly, and was surprised when he lay down on the sand, "You can bury me!" Ariel frowned, "Why would I do that?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips. He grinned, "You cover my body up to here..." he paused to place his hand at the bottom of his neck, "...with sand, its fun!" he finished. Ariel sighed and picked up a spade, "Ok...?"

After she'd 'buried' Eric, she laughed at his head sticking out of the sand, "What happens now?" she asked. He grinned, "Now the sand monster comes to get you!" he laughed, breaking free of the sand and jumping up, grabbing Ariel and hoisting her onto his shoulders, "Ah! Help me!" she giggled, holding onto his head for balance. Once they had played their game (which consisted mainly of falling over and giggling) they sat down on the beach and looked at the sunset. Eric sighed contently, but he could tell that Ariel was bothered by something, "What's wrong?" he asked, looking over at her. She sighed, "I miss them... you know that right?" she mumbled. He smiled sympathetically and nodded, "I know... I know how it feels. My parents died when I was seven," he replied. Ariel looked up at him with concern on her face, "Oh Eric, I didn't know! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, hugging him, "It's ok, that was twelve years ago, so it doesn't bother me as much now..." he said, looking back out to the sea, "Ariel, I promise that we'll go see your family again... somehow," he told her truthfully. She smiled; "Really?" he smiled, "You have my word,"

**Yay! I hope you liked that one! I did it when I was 'revising' LOL. Actually, maybe I should be revising... just don't tell anyone ok!?! Please! LOL anyway... thanks to xSummersx and Daydreamer747 for your help! Any suggestions for next item? I have a good one from Daydreamer747, but any more will be appreciated! Thanks! :D**


	4. Guitar

Ariel smiled as she walked along the corridors of the palace, saying hello to the maids as she did so. Hearing a noise, she turned and made her way down a smaller corridor. Stopping outside the door, she could hear some kind of musical instrument, and singing. She lightly knocked on the door and opened it. Eric was sat on a stool with some kind of wooden thing on his lap. He smiled as she walked in, closing the door behind her, "What's that?" she asked, walking over to him. He smiled,  
"This is a guitar," he replied, moving up on the stool so that she could sit down,

"Gitar?"

"No, guitar,"

"That's what I said, gitar!"

"Ok... say it with me. Gui..."

"Gui..."

"Tar..."

"Tar. Guitar. Is that it?" he nodded, putting it down for a second and lifting her onto his lap, "I'm sitting on you again," he laughed and kissed her on the cheek before lifting the guitar up and placing it on her lap,  
"Here, I'll help you," he whispered, taking her hands and positioning them in the correct place on the guitar, "Now strum it," he instructed. She smiled and began to softly strum it, grinning at the sound it made,  
"This is cool," she breathed, making him smile.

* * *

After playing for about an hour Eric began to sing along, which made Ariel smile all the more as he taught her different cords and notes. But they were soon interrupted by a knock at the door,  
"Come in!" Eric called. The door opened and Carlotta stepped in,  
"I was just wondering if Ariel wanted to come see her new dress?" she asked, looking fondly at the happy couple. Ariel smiled,  
"I'd love to, see you later, Eric," she replied, slowly getting up and giving Eric a quick kiss before wandering off with Carlotta. Eric sighed as she left, the room seeming emptier without her. He pictured her face, cheerful, with her ocean blue eyes sparkling and her red hair flowing over her shoulders, and he smiled. Who couldn't smile when they saw her face, it was illegal not to! He got up, and leaving the room, he thought of a perfect gift for Ariel's birthday, which was approaching soon...

* * *

**Hi! Sorry for the delay and sorry it's a bit short! Any more suggestions? Either for Ariel's b-day gift or next object? Thanks to xSummersx and Daydreamer747!**


	5. Birthday Song

HELLO! I'm sorry for the HUGE delay! I have been moving house and I'm just about to jet off to Turkey for half-term, but here's the next chapter! A special thank you to xSummersx and Daydreamer747 for sticking with this, sorry if you got annoyed by the delay! Please forgive me! Also, this contains lyrics from a song that I don't own, which Eric sings to Ariel. It's 'When You Say Nothing At All' by Ronan Keating, I've always thought that it fits this movie because of when she can't speak, and if you listen to it, just imagine Eric having Ronan Keating's voice and you'll read it the way I do... look it up on YouTube, it's a great song! :D Oh, by the way- did you know that Ariel is the ONLY mother of the Disney Princesses? I didn't! Thankyou Wikipedia! XD

* * *

The weeks passed and soon the morning of Ariel's birthday. In the early hours of the morning, Carlotta and the other maids rushed around the palace, getting things ready for the celebrations. The chefs set to work on the elaborate cake that Prince Eric had ordered specifically, with much detail right down to the last sugar seahorse. The stable boys were brushing the white stallions, making sure that they looked their best for the carriage ride later on in the day. As all this mayhem was taking place, Eric and Ariel were snuggled up in their comfy bed, fast asleep. The light shone onto the balcony and through the window, lighting up Ariel's peaceful face as she slept. However, the light disturbed Eric's sleep, causing his eyes to open slowly, and he smiled when he saw his sleeping wife next to him. Lifting up his hand, he gently brushed away a stray strand of hair on her face, and he softly caressed her cheek, "Oh Ariel... words cannot describe how much I love you... maybe this will help," he whispered, and he kissed her tenderly on her lips, causing her to wake up, and return the kiss lovingly. Once they had finished, she smiled and fluttered her eyelashes sleepily, "Do you remember what day it is?" he asked her, grinning his boyish grin. She smiled,  
"Thursday?" she joked, poking his nose playfully. He laughed,  
"It's your birthday!" he reminded her, and she grinned,  
"Yay! Has it already been a year since the last one?" she asked, and he nodded and buried his head in her thick, red hair and gently smelled it, recognising the smell of shampoo, and if he concentrated hard enough, the faint smell of the ocean. If you had been underwater for most of your life, then all the shampoo in the world would only get out half of the smell of the sea. She giggled and pushed him away, "Stop it, you silly man!" he smiled playfully and winked at her, making a faint blush creep across her cheeks,  
"See, I've still got it," he sighed happily, and she sat up and fluffed her pillow up,  
"Since when did you ever lose 'it'?" she questioned, making him laugh,  
"It's just an expression, Ariel, don't get all worked up about it," he replied, shifting over until he was leaning over her slightly. Noticing her bare stomach, he decided to have some fun, "Ariel?"

"Yes?"

"We play a game on land called 'Shut your eyes for five seconds and you win', do you wanna give it a go?" he suggested, and grinned when she nodded and closed her eyes, beginning to count. He seized the opportunity and began to tickle her relentlessly, and soon both of their laughs filled the room as they rolled around tickling each other on the bed. Once they had finished and regained their breaths, they were in a position where Ariel was lying on top of Eric. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door and a young looking maid stepped in, only to drop the towels she was carrying in shock,  
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry, your highness!" she exclaimed before running out and slamming the door behind her. Ariel looked confused, and Eric sighed,  
"But we weren't doing anything..." she pondered.

* * *

"Three cheers for Ariel! Hip hip!" shouted Eric as Ariel laughed from her chair beside the grand dining table, and soon the entire crowd were cheering joyfully. Once they had finished their cheers, Ariel stood up beside Eric and he put an arm around her waist as they stood,  
"I'd just like to thank all of you, for everything, the party, the presents, I'm really grateful! But there is one person who made this all possible!" she said, and she leaned up and kissed Eric on the cheek, making the people in the crowd whoop and cheer. Eric grinned and kissed her tenderly on her own cheek, and she leant up further to his ear, "Thank you, Eric," she whispered, tickling his ear slightly with her breath. He smiled,  
"You're welcome, Ariel..."

* * *

The sun was beginning to set, and Ariel had been looking for Eric for about ten minutes. She was getting worried, and quite frankly, a bit upset. Even though she was anything but greedy or selfish, she was wondering if Eric had even gotten her a birthday present. As she walked through the corridors, she passed Carlotta, who was holding a large bundle of wrapping paper, "Carlotta?" she asked, pulling the woman to the side for a second,  
"Yes?" she replied, looking concerned, and Ariel smiled to let her know it was ok,  
"Have you seen Eric anywhere?" it was then that Carlotta grinned like she knew something that Ariel "Oh, he's on the beach, you should go see him, he has something for you!" and with that she left, rushing off down the corridor with her wrapping paper once again.

* * *

Eric smiled when he saw Ariel approaching, and he finished tuning his guitar and got ready to play for her. When she got nearer, he saw her smile and she began to run, eventually meeting him with a loving kiss, "What are you doing?" she asked, swaying her arms nervously. He grinned,  
"Well, I haven't given you a birthday gift yet, have I?" and his grin grew even wider when her face lit up,  
"Are you going to play the gitar?" he ignored her mispronunciation,  
"Yeah, but I'm going to sing too!" and with that he began to play a few opening chords. **(A/N: if you've looked up the song on YouTube then play it now on a separate tab! XD)**_It's amazing how you can speak right to my heart,  
Without saying a word, you can light up the dark,  
Try as I may, I can never explain,  
What I hear when you don't say a thing._

* * *

The smile on your face lets me know that you need me,  
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me,  
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me, wherever I fall,  
You say it best,  
When you say nothing at all.

_All day long, I can hear people talking out loud,  
But when you hold me near,  
You drown out the crowd,  
Try as they may, they can never define,  
What's been said between your heart and mine._

_The smile on your face lets me know that you need me,  
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never leave me,  
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me, wherever I fall,  
You say it best,  
When you say nothing at all._

_(Instrumental Break)_

_Oh, the smile on your face lets me know that you need me,  
There's a truth in your eyes saying you'll never need me,  
The touch of your hand says you'll catch me, wherever I fall,  
You say it best,  
When you say nothing at all._

_That smile on your face,  
The truth in your eyes,  
The touch of your hand lets me know that you need me..._

* * *

The song ended, and Eric looked up to find Ariel in tears,  
"What's wrong?" he asked, getting up and pulling her into a big hug, and she laughed into his shoulder,  
"Nothing... it was beautiful, you have an amazing voice..." she sobbed happily, and he felt his shirt become soggy, but he didn't mind,  
"Anything for you, Ariel," he whispered, and he felt her smile as more tears escaped her eyes,  
"Thank you..." she replied, and slowly, she lifted her head and looked into his handsome face, "I love you," and with that she kissed him, but with more passion than ever before, except at their wedding, and he wrapped his arms around her waist as her arms found their way to his neck, and she gently caressed the smooth, black hair at the nape of his neck. He chuckled through her lips, and gradually, they made their way down onto the sand, still kissing. Soon they ran out of breath, and they pulled away from each other, both smiling, with Ariel's arms still around his neck,  
"I love you too," he breathed, and she blushed light pink, "Oh, and by the way..." he then leaned down until he was right beside her ear,

"Happy Birthday..."

* * *

**Yay! I hope you liked it! Do you think this story is finished or should I keep going? Thanks again! :D**_  
_


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